Episode 44: Hunting the Huntress
Sharkak slams his mighty claw against Xander, who attempts to guard with his Shield but is crushed under the weight. Takeshi freezes one of his huge claws and Teru runs up the other. He lashes Sharkak in the eye with the end of his Bo-Staff, but is send flying into a wall when Sharkak's breathing sends a gust of deathly wind at him. Steel pulls out of his satchel a Holy Handgrenade and remembers how he got it. (In flashback) Fuminori hands it to him and says "This is a Holy Handgrenade. Use it with caution and only as a last resort, Steel." Steel nods in response and places it in his satchel. (Flashback ends) He runs along the arm that teru was just on and drags his blade in Sharkak's arm while running. Sharkak winces in apin and roars in fury. He thinks "I will earn my freedom from this servitude of Echo! I shall become Kurisu again!" He opens his maw to devour Steel, who pulls off the pin, which is shaped like a cross, on the Holy Handgrenade. He throws it into the abyssmal pit that is Sharkak's maw. Steel does a flip in the air and lands on the ground in front of Sharkak alongside Takeshi, Teru, and Xander who have all regained their balance and regrouped. Sharkak roars one final time and begins to shatter with cracks of white and gold light. Finally, he erupts into a burst of white and gold flame. They all take cover behind several pillars to avoid the blast. When it is all clear, they regroup in the center of the ashy ground where Sharkak once stood. Nyan exclaims "Great, you've beat 'em already. Peachy. Now can you get us out of these ropes already!?" (Opening vid plays) (After Opening vid) Yuki guides a mother and her son that she found hiding in an apartment complex to a bridge leading to a checkpoint being guarded by several S.W.A.T. The son asks "Are we gonna be ok?" Yuki nods while smiling down at him "We're almost there, I promise-" She is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a Neko-looking Demon with blue eyes and brown hair armed with a black Crossbow. He smiles revealing small fangs and says "Sup', Paladiness?" Yuki clenches her teeth and thinks to herself "Not now..." She mutters to the two quietly "Go past him, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything." The mother clutches her son protectively and runs past the Demon, who smiles at them. He looks at Yuki, who is aiming a Blessed arrow at him. He raises his hands in a surrendering pose "Easy now, Paladiness. I was merely arriving to make sure those chaps made it safely. No need for the hostile tension." He notices her long, pointed ears and exclaims "Oh! An Elf! I didn't know you still existed!" Yuki says with a glare "First off, even though I'm a female I'm still referred to as a Paladin. Secondly, we are still around. And thirdly, you lie horribly." She fires a Blessed arrow at him, which tears at the concrete as it passes. He tilts his head to dodge it and it stabs into a S.W.A.T. van. An officer exclaims "Woah!" Yuki's eyes light up at the sight; a Demon dodging her Blessed arrows by a mere tilt of the head. The Demon asks "You gonna give me your name or what?" She answers "I am Yuki Yusune, Bishop of Kindess." The Demon comments "Didn't know they made females and elves Bishops in ckhl. Usually it's Human men. Oh well, my name is Shinji Mizakagu. I am Echo-sama's messenger, scout, and Archer supreme. Nice to make your-" He disappears and reappears in front of Yuki. He takes her hand and kisses it, then looks up at her "-acquintance." She shakes her hand away then fires another Blessed arrow at him while exclaiming "Demon trash!" He dodges it and begins dodging each Blessed arrow she fires in a dancing motion. He sticks his tongue out at her when she stops "That all ya' got?" She clenches her teeth in anger. He comments "Well, apparently it is. So I guess it's my turn." He unhooks the strap and pulls his black Crossbow off his back. He loads it with a glowing red Bolt and aims at Yuki "As Uramustay-san would say about now... 'Auf Wiedersehen Fraulein'." He fires and it's power rockets the concrete, sending cracks from where he is standing. The unholy Bolt slams against an iron support beam for the bridge, missing Yuki due to her doing a flip to dodge. Shinji turns to Yuki with a lazy look "Now thats not fun, moving around like that." Yuki pulls out three Blessed arrows and aims them at Shinji. She announces "By the ordinance of God, the unholy patrons of darkness shall be banished into eternal damnation! Amen!" She fires them, and Shinji dodges each. He chuckles and announces "I'll just dodge each arrow? What do you hope to accomplish?!" As he finishes his sentence, each arrow turns around and soars high into the air. They then turn downward and dive straight toward Shinji, who looks up in time to see them. He does a flip in time to dodge the arrows, which spike into the ground. He sighs in relief and thinks to himself "No more foolin' around, this chick means business." (Ending vid plays)